Service providers to be paid promptly this year – NHIA

The National Health Insurance Authority (NHIA) has assured health service providers of prompt payment of their claims this year.

According to the Authority, delays in prompt payment which became a major source of friction between the authority and health care institutions will be a thing of the past.

The Health Insurance Service Providers Association of Ghana (HISPAG ) in the preceding year withdrew their services to NHIS card bearing members due to government’s failure to pay the monies owed them.

Mission hospitals who were key service providers also returned to the cash and carry system of providing health care.

The continuous delay forced HISPAG to threaten legal action against the NHIA because, according to them, the delay in paying the monies affected the smooth running of their health facilities.

Speaking to Citi News however, the Chief Executive of the NHIA, Sylvester Mensah said his outfit is not oblivious to the challenges “we have gone through in the year 2014, particularly relating to claims payment.”

He was hopeful the challenge of delays in payment of claims will not be repeated this year.

Mr. Mensah explained that the Authority is “working very hard to ensure that we improve upon our relationships with service providers and deal with what they consider paramount and significant for their operations and largely, the timely payment of claims.”